978 ADDRESSES AND STATE PAPERS

people who have evoked my admiration and respect in my life-time
but, during the time that this campaign got rather heated — and
during the time that a lesser man may have been inclined to interject
into my particular efforts, in this all-out attempt to be elected, cer-
tain advice that may have been very upsetting to me — under intense
circumstances Mr. Nixon showed a restraint, a confidence in me that
few people have ever exhibited. And I can only say this: that as a
Vice President, I will be as loyal as a Vice President has ever been
to a man, not because the job requires the loyalty — which of course
it does — but because of my personal feeling about Mr. Nixon.

My sincerest thanks to all those friends and supporters and staff who
worked so hard for the Nixon-Agnew ticket. They meant so much
to our victory. They'll mean so much to us in the future. I'm in-
tensely grateful to the American people for allowing me to play an
important role in the magnificent work that lies ahead.

And, of course, the family and I will have much to do. I suppose
we'll have to look forward to the not too tasteful task of vacating
what is probably the finest Governor's Mansion in the United States.
But we will begin to do this after I have spent the remainder of the
week cleaning up some State business, and I hope I will get a few days
off next week before pitching in to prepare for the tremendous task
that lies ahead.

My very sincere thanks to you all for your support during the
campaign, and we anticipate the continuation of your efforts in the
future.

Thank you.

Questions and Answers

Q. Were you surprised by the closeness of the race?

A. The question was: Was I surprised by the closeness of the race?
I really can't say that I was, because I always approach every political
election that I have been involved in, including the ones that I
simply worked in rather than being a candidate, as a very unpredict-
able set of circumstances — so I can't say that I was surprised.

I had the feeling, as we came into the last week of the campaign,
that it was indeed going to be a very close thing, and it ran a little
closer than would make you comfortable — but we kept the faith
through it all.

Q. Governor, what do you consider your major contribution during
the campaign? What do you consider your major contribution to the
ticket?